Wearables are hot at CES, and few have as much of a lead as the Pebble. With its quirky charm and developer support, there’s a lot of mind share for this little Kickstarter success story.

Now they’re refining their magic formula with Pebble Steel. Everything we’ve enjoyed is still on board, like the terrific ePaper display and app support. Now though we have a sexier, slimmer frame, in Black Matte or Brushed Stainless. Gorilla Glass will protect your display, and you’ll receive metal and leather straps in the box. It’ll also launch with Pebble

The price bumps up to $249, which even for the nicer premium experience, is still undercutting a lot of the smartwatch market. Full PR below.

Thanks to Myriam Joire (@TNKGRL) for giving us a private demo of the Pebble Steel!

Las Vegas, NV (January 6, 2014) – Pebble Steel, the premium watch for iOS and Android, is the newest addition to Pebble’s smartwatch family. Proudly announced today just in time for CES, Pebble Steel wraps everything users know and love about Pebble—clear ePaper display, week-long battery life, and waterproof design—into a slimmer, classic form factor. Available now in Black Matte or Brushed Stainless exclusively on getpebble.com for $249, worldwide shipments of Pebble Steel will begin January 28.
“With Pebble, we created an iconic, colorful, and sporty smartwatch,” says Product Evangelist Myriam Joire, “but we wanted to build something even more refined. Pebble Steel cranks the style dial to 11.”

Pebble Steel unites modern technology and timeless design, coming in two finishes: Brushed Stainless and Black Matte. All models are bundled with both a matching metal band and a black leather strap. The Black Matte Pebble Steel is crafted using a process called Physical Vapor Deposition to provide a tactile, deep black finish that’s also ultra-durable. Pebble Steel’s ePaper display is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass lens with an oleophobic, anti-fingerprint coating. The housing also subtly incorporates a RGB LED light to indicate charge status. Like the original Pebble, Pebble Steel is waterproof up to 5 ATM.

“Our mission is clear,” says CEO Eric Migicovsky. “Create the gold standard for wearables that mesh perfectly with your everyday life, and build the fundamental ecosystem and platform for these devices.”

During CES 2014, Pebble partners Pandora, iControl, and Mercedes-Benz will feature Pebble Steel in hands-on demos of their new Pebble app integrations. These pioneering brands join ESPN, Yelp, Foursquare, and GoPro as part of Pebble’s growing app family, ready to bring tiny moments of awesome to Pebblers’ wrists every day.